Rebellion
by Saffronica612
Summary: A collection of one-shots and song-fics centered around the citizens of the Cyclonian empire. Title sort of explains it all. No intended pairings.
1. Intro

Author's Note: I know, another story. I really have way, way, way too many going. Oh well. I will finish them all eventually! This one isn't going to be like my others, as the chapters won't be interconnected. It's not a story, it's a collection of 1-shots, some of them being song-fics. About what? Um, look at the title: Rebellion (in the Cyclonian Empire). One last note—if a chapter is a song-fic, after the chapter title will be _(sf)_. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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They think they're so good. They think they're so strong. They think they're invincible, with their legions of Talons and Nightcrawlers.

_She_ thinks that nothing can touch her, surrounded by all that power. She thinks that her crystal aptitude makes her invincible. Maybe it is true that in a one-on-one fight, she would win. But there are thousands of us, and only one of her. She can't take on us all.

We are the factory workers, who work dawn to dusk for wages too meager to support us. We are the miners, who more often that not die from the dust in the air and the bad conditions. We are the farmers who work day after day only to have our crops stolen from us. We are the laborers. We are the slaves.

We are the Talons who have been mistreated. We are the Talons who have lost a limb and been stripped of rank and dumped on some small Terra, homeless and penniless. We are the fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters of the Talons who died to spread this Cyclonian plague across the entire Atmos.

We are Cyclonian, but not for long. Not if we can help it. There is no pride in the name, nor is there shame, for we are not the ones destroying the freedom. There is only a reminder of the chains that bind us every time the name is spit at us by the newly conquered ones. Soon, though, they realize that we are all on the same team. We are all fighting against the same masters.

So we work. We pretend that nothing is wrong, and we all do our appointed jobs. But our day is coming. We will rise up. We will reclaim our freedom.

Cyclonia's end will not be brought about by some brave foreign Sky Knight. Cyclonia is being taken down from the inside, by those who you call Cyclonian citizens.

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Short first one. I'll probably update completely erratically, so no promises. Please review anyway!


	2. Factory sf

Author's Note: I've found myself doing so many song-fics, and there seems to be so many rebellious songs out there…. I hope you all like it! [hint: review and tell me!]

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The song used is this one is called "Re-Education," or "Through Labor" by Rise Against.

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_To the sound of a heartbeat pounding away_

My heart pounds as I look at the crystal pointing straight at my head. I am about to die, and I will not close my eyes. I will stare death in the face.

_To the rhythm of the awful rusted machines_

(Flashback) I stumble to my post in the factory. The ground is hot, the machines are glowing. There is never silence; the clanking goes on forever. It wouldn't take that much time and effort to clean the gears, but Cyclonia leaves it there on purpose. It's their way of telling us how we can never escape. The sound follows us everywhere, to work, at home, even in our dreams. There is no escape.

_We toss and turn but don't sleep  
Each breath we take makes us thieves_

(Thought) You never know what day may be your last. Maybe you're late to the factory, or the overseer is in a bad mood. Maybe for no reason at all.

We are dirt to the Cyclonians. We are a waste of oxygen, only good for the labor we produce.

_Like causes without rebels_

_Just talk but promise nothing else_

(Reflection) I'm not sure when the idea to rebel first came to my mind. Probably one day when I was lying in bed, tired out from a 12-hour shift at the machines, but unable to sleep from the pain in my abdomen from the lack of a good meal in I don't know how many days.

I thought about it, and I got a good number of friends to talk about it with me, but there was nothing we could do. We were too weak, we were outnumbered, and we were weaponless. There was nothing we could promise, nothing but the danger of being caught speaking treason. So gradually, my little meetings became fewer and more far between, until finally, they stopped.

_We crawl on our knees for you_

_Under a sky no longer blue_

_We sweat all day long for you_

(Spoken) We are slaves! We work until we collapse, and even then it's not enough! You don't care about us at all, when we work day in and day out to fuel your empire!

You know, they say the sky in blue, _Master._ I wouldn't know. I was born and raised in the factory. The few moments I spend outside, the air is no fresher. The sky is red with pollutants.

You ask why I would rebel? Well, maybe because I'm tired of being a slave! Because that's what I am, working in your factories. I'm a slave of Cyclonia.

_But we sow seeds to see us through_

_The sometimes dreams just don't come true_

_We wait to reap what we are due_

(Spoken) I'm not afraid. You can threaten me all you want, but it's too late for you. Your dream, to conquer all of the Atmos? Well, I hate to break it to you—it's never going to happen.

We will take you down before you ever get that far.

We have sown the seeds of dissent in your people, but you are the one who has watered them. It is the way you mistreat us that makes us rebel. We will see freedom.

Oh, no. Not me. I know that. You'd kill me even if I did give you the information you wanted. But the _people_, we will be free.

The more you try to tighten your grasp, the more we will start to slip away, Master.

_To the rhythm of a time bomb ticking away_

(Thought) It's only a matter of time. Only a matter of time until the word explodes into full-on bloody revolution. Half of me hopes that I will see that day, and the freedom that will come afterwards. Half of me prays desperately that by the time that day comes, I will be long gone.

_And the blare of the sirens combing the streets_

(Flashback) I lay back in my bed, unable to fall asleep. Every few seconds, I can hear the roar of a skimmer engine passing over. The Talons comb the skies.

Cyclonia is at war, I understand that. Yet sometimes I wonder: whom do they consider the enemy? Atmos, or us, their slaves? Oh, they claim that we are their citizens, and that they are fighting the Sky Knights. I ask, then why do the Talons comb over our Terras?

_Chased down like dogs we run from_

_Your grasp until the sun comes up_

(Flashback) The first time I went to a truly organized rebel meeting, it was broken up halfway by reports of Talons coming. We all fled. All night I ran throughout the streets aimlessly, and the next day, I had to work like nothing had happened.

My next meeting I learned that we had been lucky; we didn't usually get that much warning.

_We crawl on our knees for you_

_Under a sky no longer blue_

_We sweat all day long for you  _

(Reflection) I am a laborer by day, but a rebel by night. I live a double life, and it was only so long before I was caught.

My body could only take the pressure for so long. Lack of sleep, lack of nutrients, all the stress and the worry.

I've been dying.

I've been dying a bit every day, every time I inhale the polluted air here, or work when all my joints and bones are complaining, or go to bed missing another meal. My soul has been dying a bit each day in these chains of slavery.

_But we sow seeds to see us through  _

_The sometimes dreams just don't come true  _

_Look now at what they've done to_

(Spoken) Sorry if this seems too personal—wait, I'm not apologizing to you. I don't care about showing you respect, _Master._

You're just a fourteen-year-old girl. What ever happened to you that made you so broken inside? What did they do to you to turn you into a ruthless tyrant? Who stole your childhood? Who stole your soul, Master, and made it so that you'd have to enslave all of ours?

[Silence]

I didn't think that you could answer. Still, I had to ask.

_White needles buried in the red  _

_The engine roars and then it gives  _

_But never dies  _

(Spoken) Cyclonia is falling. Can't you see it, _Master_? Not just that your Talons are loosing again and again to a bunch of kids, but there's only so long that we could stand being treated this way. Surely you realize; you won't be able to hold on much longer.

'_Coz we don't live  _

_We just survive  _

_On the scraps that you throw away_

(Spoken) What, you think you can threaten me with death? Let me tell you a secret, Master—you can't offer me my life. I don't live; I just survive. All of us just survive on the scraps that you care to throw to us, like wild dogs.

I'm not a dog, I'm a person. I will not play your twisted games anymore!

_I won't crawl on my knees for you  _

_I won't believe the lies that hide the truth  _

(Spoken) Execute me. But I will never be enslaved again. I won't believe your Cyclonian propaganda. I won't fall for it. I will never work for you again! I will never bow down to you again! I would rather face the consequences then live that life.

_I won't sweat one more drop for you  _

(Spoken) I'm not your slave anymore.

'_Coz we are the rust upon your gears  _

_We are the insects in your ears  _

(Spoken) You want to know about the rebel group? Well, we're everywhere. You'll never find all of us. You see, every person you've mistreated, they have the potential to be one of us. More and more are joining every day.

No, I'm not their leader. Even if I were, I couldn't stop this movement now. It's bigger than any of us. It's an avalanche coming straight towards you, and soon you will be buried.

Soon we will get our revenge.

_We crawl  _

_We crawl  _

_We crawl … all over you_

(Spoken) You can never stop us, because actually, you have made us. Now we are unstoppable. There are too many of us. We crawl all over you.

_We sow the seeds to see us through  _

_Our days are precious and so few  _

_We all reap what we are due  _

(Thought) She's going to kill me. I can tell by the anger in those violet eyes. She's going to kill me.

I would not do it any other way. I would not change any choice that I have made. There was no other path. I am a free man, and I would rather die a free man than work my fingers to the bone as my soul breaks and rots.

I am a rebel, and I am proud of it. I am proud to my death.

_A judge's sky no longer blue  _

_We bring the dawn all over new  _

(Thought) She's going to kill me. I can tell by the anger in those violet eyes. She's going to kill me.

I'm going to die without ever seeing the blue sky. The sky above me is red, like the blood that pounds through my veins for not that much longer.

_We crawl  _

_We crawl  _

_We crawl … all over you_

"Execute him. This was a waste of time." The Master walks away, leaving me to face my death alone. I am not afraid.

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Review please!


	3. Death sf

Author's Note: I feel like only Pascy is reading this (maybe because she is the only person who cared to review). Anyway, thanks so much Pascy! I'm glad you like it! As for everyone else, please read and review!

Okay, this chapter is especially dark. And weird. So you have been warned!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nerd Corps owns Storm Hawks. "Still Waiting" is by Sum 41.

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'Who am I?'

'I am called Death.'

'I am Death, and in my embrace I shall take all things. Everyone and everything has a time to die. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.'

'I feel all of my children's pain. I feel all of the wrong, all of the hurt in the world. Every day, I heal it a bit. Every day, I spread the numbness of not-being to a few more people. Every day, I take a few of my children to the _better place_. To the light. To the peace. To the end.'

_So am I still waiting_

_For this world to stop hating_

_Can't find a good reason_

_Can't find hope to believe in_

The boy ran forward, but there were Talons all around him.

"What do we have here?" chuckled the Dark Ace.

"I think we've caught ourselves a rebel!" yelled one of his Talons.

"Please," the boy said. "I surrender!"

"We don't take prisoners," Dark Ace snarled. There was no mercy in his crimson eyes.

'I feel the fear in the boy. I feel the confusion—he was just trying to fight for a better life. He has not known a good meal, or a warm bed, or ever truly been clean. He was just trying to make a better tomorrow. He wasn't even truly a part of a rebel group, because he hated violence. He was peacefully petitioning for minimal wage when the Talons found him.'

'A red blade flashed down. I take his soul into my embrace. A bit of hope dies along with him that day—hope for peace. Cyclonia is killing the hope.'

_Drop dead a bullet to my head_

_Your words are like a gun in hand_

"We will not be slaves!" the leader shouted. "Death would be better than this!"

'How true. They do not know the heaven that awaits for them, for everyone, in the next world.'

"We must rise up, together! Together, they cannot tear us apart. They can take a few of us down, but as long as the Cyclonians are still there, the rebellion will live on! Because no human will sit around and allow themselves to be mistreated while they have a chance to fight. So we will fight!"

The entire assembly rose to their feet screaming.

'I feel happy for my children, taking their power back, but at the same time, I sense all of their ends coming. The inflammatory words will only ignite violence. Don't the children see that violence is never the answer?'

_You can't change the state of the nation_

_We just need some motivation_

_Three times I see no conviction_

_Just lies and more contradiction_

'That night I hover over the one who calls herself Master Cyclonis. Sometimes I try to enter her dreams, but to no avail. She won't let me in. She is all darkness, and closed doors.'

'I still love her.'

'Is that so hard to believe? She has sent so many of my other children into my embrace, and yet I still love her. For she, too, is a child of mine.'

'"No more lies," I whisper to her. "No more pain. No more suffering. End this conflict peacefully." But I do not know if she hears or not. I do not know if she listens or not.'

'Despite my power, I cannot end this war. Only Man can do that. But it is Man who has started this was, Man who is fighting.'

'I am confused. I feel so helpless.'

_So tell me what would you say_

_I'd say its time (to listen)_

'What can I do? I can only watch as my children make mistake after mistake, and yet I cannot stop loving them.'

'If they all sat down and talked it out, surely they could come to some sort of agreement. But Cyclonis is too young, inexperienced, and concerned with her reputation. The Sky Knights are too busy protecting their innocents. The Cyclonian citizens are too angry at the way they have been treated.'

'People choose violence over peace, because violence is the easy answer. They do not want to listen to each other.'

'I still listen. Every night, I hear the cries of my children, but I cannot comfort them. Not until it is too late. Not until they rest forever.'

_So am I still waiting_

_For this world to stop hating_

_Can't find a good reason_

_Can't find hope to believe in_

These rebels were among the more fanatic variety. These rebels were the ones who had lost mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, to the Cyclonians. These were the ones who had nothing left to live for.

They set up the crystals and the wires, to the door. Cyclonian Talons were going to be the next ones to walk through.

Only Talons are not the next ones to walk through. Fellow Cyclonian 'citizens' walk through.

'The innocents do not know what has happened. They die before they even realize that they have been ripped from their lives. The bombers die with a fierce pleasure, believing they have brought down Talons.'

'How wrong they all are.'

_Ignorance and understanding_

_We're the first ones to jump in line_

"Sign here, Master Cyclonis."

The teen empress chews her lip. Love against hate. Peace against violence. Allies against all fallen in despair from the bloody aftermath of an all-out war. In the end, she doesn't have a choice. She signs the treaty.

One million deaths. A few quick strokes of a pen, and one million deaths are prevented.

'I wish it were real. But no, it is only a figment of my imagination. Real life never works out that well, but what do I know about life? I am Death. How ironic that I am Death, telling you how or how not life works.'

'I just like to dream of better futures.'

_Out of step for what we believe in_

_But who's left? To start the pleading._

"Please," the young man begs. "We just want peace."

He is an ambassador, not sent by Terra Atmosia, but from Terra Atmosia. He was told that this mission was suicide, and not to go. He believed in peace more than he cared for his own life.

The dungeons of Cyclonia for three months, then off to a factory on a distant Terra to labor for the rest of his lives. He will not see his family or friends again. Everything he knew and loved will be ripped away from him.

Terra Atmosia does not send another.

_How far will we take this_

_It's not hard to see through the sickness_

'Hate is the plague of the world. Why do they hate? Surely they see that it is wrong. Surely they see that love is the better way. Surely they learn from their past mistakes, and try to heal their world, not rip it apart again.'

'Hate is a sickness, and Atmos has been infected with it.'

'The cure is love. But they all look at violence with false hope. Don't they see that by fighting with hate, they will become the very evil they are trying to get rid of? They are already infected by the darkness.'

'Will they go that far? They are angry, and angry men often do things they later wish to take back.

'I still love them. Sometimes, though, I doubt their ability to love.'

_So tell me what would you say_

_I'd say its time (to listen)_

'No one listens. There is misunderstanding. There is death. Because no one listens.'

'Listen, my children. I beg you. Listen.'

'If you will not listen to the voices of your enemies, listen to the cries of your own people. Listen to the screams of your own families, and tell me if violence ever really helped you.'

'Listen.'

_So am I still waiting_

_For this world to stop hating_

_Can't find a good reason_

_Cant find hope to believe in_

A public execution. What did the man do? No one is really sure. Somehow, though, he displeased Cyclonis in some way, and now they all have to watch him die.

What were his dreams? What were his aspirations? Was there someone waiting for him to come home, only to never see her love again? Did he have children?

No one likes to think about these questions. It makes him seem more human, and it makes the entire spectacle a lot harder to bear.

'The blade falls. I take my child into my arms.'

_This can't last forever_

_Time wont make things better_

'How long was this war going to go on? This was not meant to be. This was not fate. This was not natural. It was disrupting the plans for the future.'

'The world has gotten off track, and there is no one who can put it back on. I do not know what to do.'

_I feel so alone_

_Can't help myself_

_And no one knows_

_If this is worthless_

_Tell me: so_

'I am Death. As much as I love my children, I am not one of them. I do not understand them. I do not understand why they must hurt each other.'

'I am alone. There is none other like me. No one knows better than me what it feels like to die, because I feel the ends of all of my children, as if it were my own end.'

'But I do not know the love of a partner, or the joy in creating life, or the various happy things in life. I do not know what it means to be human, for I am not human. I am Death.'

'I rain down on Atmos, taking more and more of my children home with me.'

'I try to save them, but why? There is nothing I can really do. They will die anyway. Why do I try to prolong their suffering on this world?'

'Because in truth, I want them to know this 'love' that is denied to me. So they suffer, but they know love. And so the war goes on.'

_What have we done_

_Were in a war that can't be won_

_This can't be real_

_I don't know what to feel_

"Aerrow, what are we doing? They outnumber us, outgun us—they out-everything us! More and more Terras are falling, and we can't be everywhere. We can save everyone. Sooner or later, we won't be able to save ourselves!" The navigator tried to keep her voice down, but the last couple words came out as a squeak. Her eyes were filled with worry, and fear—for herself, for the entire Atmos.

"We'll be fine," Aerrow replied, trying to give her a confidence that he didn't have. "We'll just keep fighting, like we always do. As long as we go on, there is still hope."

'It was a lie. There is no hope for these people, as long as they are fighting. Sooner or later, they're either going to be killed, or they will kill someone. They either lose their innocence or their life. Their bodies or their souls. Children should not be forced to pay that price.'

_So am I still waiting_

_For this world to stop hating_

_Can't find a good reason_

_Cant find hope to believe in_

"Rebel Duck, attack!" the strong, albeit heavily accented voice of the Gale warrior proclaimed. The mangy squadron swooped down on the factory, bombing the roof, breaking the machines, and helping workers escape in the ensuing chaos.

Like usual, all is fun and games until the Talons come.

The skimmers are getting away, but not quickly enough. Laden with the laborer escapees, they cannot move as fast as the Cyclonian Switchblade Elites.

One skimmer turns around to face the Talons, while the others continue going on. "No!" an old man cries from the fleeing Sky Rides. "Robin, what are you doing?"

"Go, Papa!" the brave young man shouts back. "Just promise me you'll take care of her!" The man nods.

Robin faces the Talons with no fear in his eyes. He is sacrificing himself for the others to get away.

'As I take him into my cold embrace, I feel something from him that is rare. There is a sense of purpose.'

'There is love, love for his baby daughter Dove. He loves her enough to sacrifice himself, leaving her in _his_ father's care.'

'Despite his sacrifice, she will still know only violence, only war. She will grow up a fighter. She will never learn of the fruits of peace.'

_So am I still waiting_

_For this world to stop hating_

_Can't find a good reason_

_Can't find hope to believe in_

'So many. That is all I can think. So many.'

'So many have died. So many will die.'

'I am Death, not Man, and there is nothing I can do.'

'I must wait.'

'I must wait, and believe in Man's power to create their better future.'

'Every day, I lose hope. Until one day, there will be no hope left. One day, there will be no war left to fight. One day, there will be no life left in Atmos.'

'Death.'

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